How in the world is dogs mouth cleaner than ours?? NEVER!!! Dogs tend to lick everything that gets near them. They lick their anus and genital areas most of the time and those areas contain millions of bacteria. So the answer is NO, it is not okay for dogs to lick babies faces.
I am a retired pediatrician. One day,about 15 years ago, one parent came to my office with her four months old baby's diaper. When she opened the diaper. I saw a lot of worms mix with baby's bowel movement. They were the dog's hook worms. It all came from the dog licking on baby's face -include her mouth. Please get your dog to the veterinarian on the regular basis.
If a dog has a parasite, and many do, that parasite will attempt to reproduce by laying eggs in the dogs gut. The dog poops out the eggs with a few always clinging to it's butt. So the dog is laying on the front room carpet, licking it's butt after having a good poop while outside. Baby toddles by and doggy gleefully gives baby a face licking, leaving poop and parasite eggs on baby's face and mouth. Am I wrong?
People want to say a dogs mouth is cleaner than ours- why would you believe that when dogs lick their own butts AND other dogs butts & eat pooh! No human I know of does either of those things!!! Their can also be cat or dog pooh in sand- get a clue people! You can get sick from ingesting even a little pooh! Just because you are an animal lover, you believe what you WANT to believe! If you don't care about your kid any more than the dog- let them lick their face!
I love my dog...that said I would never encourage/allow him to lick the face of a baby or small child. Dogs are animals and no matter how nice/sweet the dog is things can happen to provoke a dog to snap at or bite a child. ALWAYS closely supervise child/dog interactions. As was mentioned before, dogs lick themselves...enough said.
Ok, scientifically proven fact for everyone, dogs have enzymes in their mouths that kill incredible amounts of bacteria. So the fact that dogs have cleaner mouths then humans, leads me to the answer that "Yes", it is ok. But if you are still worried, you can wash the baby's face afterwords.
So we teach each other not to drink after each other to avoid disease. Yet dog lovers espouse it is safe to let a dog lick your mouth as it is allegedly cleaner than humans. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ATE POOP OR LICKED YOUR PRIVATES OR ANOTHERS PRIVATES. PEOPLE CAN CATCH A DISEASE FROM DOGS, HOOKWORM. Lips who have met a dogs will never meet mine if I am amare. Remeber dogs and cats are not people even tho some would like to think so
I don't know where the myth started about "a dog has less bacteria in its mouth than humans". Nice try pet owners but not true. Dogs put their faces where we don't. Letting a dog sleep by you in bed, letting a dog lick your face or the faces of your children are very bad notions. Actually, all animals in a house and especially letting a dog lick any part of a human is unhealthy.
The dog's saliva contains many germs which can be dangerous for humans. The babies are even more at risk as they have not yet developed immunity against diseases.
That is disgusting. A dogs mouth may be cleaner than a humans, but do you really go around licking your baby all over its face, or anyone for that matter? I'm really not at all a germaphobic person. Just think that its crazy that you would let anything lick your babies face.
Think about where the dog's tongue last was and then ask that question again. I have been a dog lover all my life but if a guy I was dating was licking his...he would not be kissing my mouth!!
No, it is not okay for a dog to lick a human face, period.Regular trips to the vet doesn't make it safe for you to engage in such behavior.Remember people!!! Dogs don't use toilet paper,and the list goes on.
Its a proven fact that dogs mouths are much cleaner than our own, yea they lick themselves but because they can do that there is and enzyme in their saliva that keeps their mouths cleaner than our own, and whoever said cats mouths are cleaner than ours is very wrong because cats have salmonella in their saliva =P
No way! Dogs are a different species and like to lick every other dogs butt or private parts (even their own). Dogs eat poo. A dog is an animal and we should keep it that way. I do know of other races which keep their dogs indoors or sleep on same bed as people. I'm sorry, don't mean to offend anyone; but if you care about your child, keep him away from dogs.
It depends on baby's allergies if any and the health of the dog as noted by the vet.... However, as long as the dog is healthy it is a very good sign as it shows that the dog views the baby as a new pack/family member - and is doing what comes naturally to them which is help care for the new member by cleaning and helping mask its new baby smell from predators - it is also a form of tactile stimulation for the baby either canine or human. My dogs were glued to my baby (she is 6 now) and she is no worse for wear - not to mention she was the best protected baby on the planet, and I believe she is a more physical child, heathy and strong due to her interaction with the dogs, they don't lie around watching cartoons all day and entice her to go outside and play instead.
It depends on the dog. My grandson had half of his skull taken off by a pit bull that did not belong to me but to his other grandsparents. He was only 13 months and just walked into the room and was attacked. He now has only half a head of hair and skin from his legs covering the other half.
There is no reason that a dogs lick is harmful to a babys face, our dog has licked my childrens face when they were little, and my grandchildrens faces, and nothing bad has come from it.
Actually, a dogs mouth has less bacteria than humans do in theirs. I don't think that a dog licking a babys face would be as harmful as you would think. I know, to me, that it may actually be comforting to see because it shows a sign of acceptance by the dog.
My dog has started scratching his back just above his tail on the kitchen chair railing, the bottom of the couch, and the frame of my bed. He went thru this once before and it stopped, but has started again. He is a "stiff" haired dog. Would it help if I "tried" to shave the area? We have two other dogs and he has become very irritable with them. Also, is there anyway to stop a young dog from chewing on the edge of the stairs that are carpeted? He chews on most everything that he can find on the floor. He is my g'daughter's dog and she doesn't seem very intent on training him and he out weights me! He has ruined 3 remotes, countless shoes and is no longer allowed in my bedroom.
I had a sheltie and would never let her lick my face but we always kissed cheek to cheek and no tongue was involved. Actually, most times I would kiss her on both sides of her face and hold her face in my hands. I sure miss her and still think of her almost every day.
There's always an exception to the rule, My dog can't reach his butt or his junk, won't even eat fried food or cook hamburgers less alone his own mess. By the way he is a Pitbull, that was found next to dead, I can't belive what a neat freak he is and plays with my Macaw
As long as the dogs teeth do not touch, scratch or bite the baby skin and make sure the baby doesn't show any hurt in his/her face or starts crying and I would also recommend cleaning the baby's face with baby wipes (or moist toilets) straight after :)
Just for the record.... Due to everyone sayin its not safe for a dog to lick a babies face..... A dog has the CLEANEST mouth in the world..... So its only not safe if your an idiot or you don't want dog slobber on your kids face....
You all realize that a dogs and a cats tounge for that matter, are both cleaner than the human tongue.. Which sits in your mouth.. And yet you kiss your baby... Hmmmm.... Think much?
People who make statements like "No, it is not safe for a dog to lick a baby's face" should do some more research. That's your opinion, not a fact. Growing up, we always had dogs. And so did/does just about everyone else I know. I know of thousands of cases where dogs have licked faces of babies and adults. I have never heard of any baby or adult getting sick from it. Research has shown that babies and adults who let their dogs lick their face do not get ill more often because of it. If you think it's gross then don't let them do it, but don't make a statement like you know what you're talking about when you don't. Get over yourself!
It's fine. You kiss your baby and the human mouth has more germs than a dogs, even though they will eat poop and drink from the toilet.. Germa-phobes will be paranoid about it, but then again they won't let their kids play at the park in the sand with other kids cause they will get sick. Being exposed to germs at a young age is better for the child in the long run. This way their immune system can develop into a strong defence against sickness as adults. So unless you want you and your child to live in a plastic bubble all your life, lighten up and live life to it's fullest!
Lighten up people. In the annals of time how many dogs (or other animals for that matter) have licked people's faces?! No, your precious little baby isn't going to die or get disastrously sick from being licked by a dog. Quite honestly, it might be healthy in the development of your infant's appreciation for animals to engage in some degree of affection by a pet. There is nothing that a passive lick on the cheek by the pooch is going to do to harm the kid.
